I'm about to secondary a porter in some bourbon. Does anyone use cheap bourbon with good results. Seems most ppl choose makers mark. It's quite expensive though. If I was drinking it straight I'd go with makers but mixing does it matter much

To my palette Elijah Craig has more wood and vanilla/caramel flavors and Buffalo Trace has a fruity and spicy kind of flavor. Out of the three I would probably take Makers Mark over Buffalo Trace or Elijah Craig unless you want the bourbon to stand out a bit more.

If you want to save a bit of cash I bet Evan Williams would be good in a porter.

you said makers mark was too expensive but you've been getting a lot of recommendations in the same price range.

evan williams is very good for the price.

i usually have a variety of bourbons around. i would get two porters and put half a shot (or whatever) in each and see if i could taste the difference. drinking them straight, it is very easy to taste the difference in quality between an evan williams or jim beam and a buffalo trace or maker's mark. the step between the $12 bottle and the $25 bottle is much bigger than the step between the $25 bottle and the $70 bottle.

You shoudlnt be using more than a couple ounces of bourbon, no reason not to use good bourbon. If you dont drink bourbon use mini bottles.

Cheap and high quality never go together. Are you trying to make great beer or just ok beer?

Jack Daniels is not bourbon.....

all this

if you're looking to save money, don't do it on this part of the beer. reuse yeast, buy bulk hops, etc. the bourbon is a pretty critical part of a bourbon porter and will directly and noticeably affect the flavor.

i know it's not the case in every state, but i can get great bourbon pretty inexpensively at costco. i don't mind buying a trio of basil hayden, booker's and baker's for $100 when it will last me a few years!

i'd also recommend you find your own ratio of bourbon to beer. you may not need very much to get the flavor you want, and you'll be quite unhappy if the recipe called for double that.